This book is great for interperating George Orwell's literary style as well as his whole attitude and flow of writing. It helps you think about what you are reading when you read one of Orwell's books, thereby making the message clearer and easier to interperate.

Es dificil encontrar una vision de la Guerra Civil Española que sea objetiva. Este libro de Orwell cuenta su experiencia como voluntario de las Brigadas Internacionales.

Como revolucionario se alistó para defender al mundo democrático del avance fascista. Pero la Guerra no era para idealistas y las profundas divisiones en el Frente Republicano lo decepcionaron, por lo que volvió a Inglaterra tras ser herido en batalla.

Es una lectura obligada para los admiradores de Orwell. Su relato de la Guerra Civil Española es fundamental para interesados en la historia.

What simpleton compares "1984" to "Brave New World?"

New World is a simple morality tale about a world forced into conspicuous consumption. Yawn. 1984 is the frightening tale of a future gone awry, and a brutal government well aware of its intention to maintain power at all cost.

We follow Winston, an editor with an odd job, rewriting history. Wiston is forced to "double think" his way through a life he knows is contrived to forever remain stagnant.

As Winston ponders the present, the war weary remains of Oceania's capital, London, he is forced to deal with memories of a very different past - and he fails to reconcile the two.

Orwell's eye is a magic thing. A reporter at heart, his eye for detail in fiction and reportage is awesome. While reading 1984, one feels Orwell IS Winston, in his head and in his world. With any imagination it becomes easy to allow 1984 to become real, and Winston's desperation your own.

Orwell side steps silly sci-fi detail (that dopey Huxley embraces too readily. What is it with all the helicopters in "Brave New World," anyway?)and creates a desperate world that, though written 50 years ago, seems perfectly plausible now.

This chilling masterpiece is a must read for anyone who ponders the delicate balance of power and politics. More so, this dark tome considers the loss of individuality in an increasing global society. At first blush, it is easy to dismiss 1984 as completely off the mark, but after some consideration, one is forced to concede that maybe nothing here is really improbably.

A must read.

Winston Smith, member of the Outer Party, a small, petty cog in the great machination of "Big Brother", tries to step out from the shadow of his life in George Orwell's now masterpiece, "1984". Written over 50 years ago, this book was to serve several purposes, one being a warning to the present that a future like this, however fantastic and unbelievable, could be in the making should we allow for it to happen.

Winston leads the dull life of a worker, not encouraged to think, or dream, for feel for himself. His whole life must be driven to support the Party, which promulgates an apparent non-entity Big Brother as the supreme one. Winston early on shows the spark of individuality that the Party so wants to extinguish; by daring to write a journal on his own, he seals his fate early in the story. Soon he meets Julia, another worker, who charms and dares him even further to enocurage having an affair. Together they make a lethal pair, and some lethal decisions, which leads to the great climax in the Ministry of Love.

What lies in the story is an amazing prophecy of government gone mad. The Party believes in creating present truths by writing and rewriting the past on its whim. The Party understands in order to control the people, it must control the language, thereby, creating "Newspeak". The Party makes people simply vanish, eradicating them from existance. The Party realizes the people who follow are merely plebians in society, and therefore, should be encouraged to not think for themselves. In fact, the Party is able to directly lie to the people, using "doublethink", where they say one thing but mean the other.

How much of Orwell's nightmare is something that can be true today? Do we have a government out of control, one that manipulates information for its own benefit, to justify war, ensure fear and terror reigns over the country; one that illegally detains people without trial, right to counsel, or even being charged with a crime; one that wants to extensively monitor our personal phone calls, e-mails, the books we check out of the library, the things we buy in stores. The dots are there to connect them; the challenge is, will you dare to do it, like Winston Smith dared?

I believe 1984 is ultimately a hopeful book. Orwell wants to challenge humanity, that during times of crisis, we are able to rise up and change things, so the fateful prophecy so nobly and horrifyingly espoused in 1984 , will only stay between the covers of the book. The choice is up to us.

One caveat if you are thinking of buying this edition: this is not the way you should read the story for the first time. However, if you've read it and would like a piece of history to call your own, this is a worthy addition to your library.

I first read 1984 when I was in the seventh grade. It earned me sneers and odd looks from my classmates, but I recognized it for what it is - a warning. This book helped shape my outlook on the world, and particularly on politics. It made me wary of false promises and doubletalk - "newspeak" - something that has unfortunately come true within my lifetime. War is peace, black is white, down is up.

Last year I finally bought a hardcover edition of the standard edition to add to my library. This manuscript is no substitute for a standard edition, in terms of reading at leisure. It has all of the corrections, crossed-out paragraphs (and pages), and the majority of it is in Orwell's own hand (i.e. not typed). To read the story in this form for the first time would be daunting.

Nevertheless I cherish it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to devotees of Orwell. It occupies a treasured space in my bookcase.

It is a shame that this little gem is out of print and so rare or expensive to find. "Orwell's London" is full of photographs of places George Orwell lived, worked and ate in and around London, 115 pictures by my count. They are evenly divided between historical photos of life in London during Orwell's lifetime and ones taken in 1984, when the book was published. The photos are grouped chronologically according to the different phases of Orwell's life and are accompanied by brief biographical sketches that lend context. The final chapter, "No enemy to pleasure", shows restaurants Orwell frequented.

The most useful feature of the book is the addresses given for every place photographed. This is very handy for anyone visiting London who would like to see places where Orwell worked or lived. I made that trip myself in 1999 and can vouch for the accuracy of the references. Of particular interest are the offices of Victor Gollancz, 14 Henrietta St., WC2 (only shown from the inside in this book), Booklover's Corner, South End Green, NW3 (now a pizza shop with an Orwell plaque near the door), and the Senate House, Malet St., WC1 (rumored to be the model for the Ministry of Truth in "1984").

All in all worthwhile, snap this one up if you can find it.

Professor Shelden's biography of Orwell is outstanding and well-researched. Prof. Shelden provides the important details of the molding of Eric Blair- boyhood, school, service in Burma for the Empire- and explains how each experience influenced young Blair yet he doesn't try to feed the reader psychobabble hogwash. Orwell's fitful rise as a writer is especially interesting. Prof. Shelden explains Orwell's various ideological wars and paints a portrait of a non-doctrinaire, humanist socialist who was a more astute critic of Stalinism or ideological socialism than anyone to his right. What I found refreshing about Prof. Shelden's account is that the reader finishes the bio without really knowing the writer's own politics. He allows Orwell to speak for himself.

GEROGE ORWELL WAS THE COOLEST GUY IN 1949!!! YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS BOOK IT REALLY IS A CLASIC. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A MAN IN THE EARLY 1900'S AND HE IS SECREATLY FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND JULIA AND HIS LIFE IS BASED AROUND THE GOVERMENT AND HE KNWOS EVERYTHING IS CHANGING AND HE IS AFRAID OF THE FEAUTURE. I THINK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS IT TRULY IS A GOOD BOOK. P.S. NOT THIS BOOK IS THE GAYEST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE. GEORGE ORWELL MUST HAVE BEEN INSANE TO PUBLISH SUCH A BORRING BOOK!!! I RECOMEND NO ONE TO READ THIS! NOT EVEN 'ANIMAL FARM' THAT IS GAY TOO I DONT KNOW WHERE HE THINKS THESE THINGS UP!!! JUST DONT READ IT YOU WILL FALL A SLEEP... FAST!!!

Although I have generally found Orwell to be a politically confused thinker, 1984 stands out as one of the best and most forward thinking works I have ever read. The amount of relevance this book has today is overwhelming, considering modern government propaganda techniques and the double edged sword of technology. This story serves as a warning to all who trust the government, especially in regards to privacy issues.

Winston Smith, while not the ideal romantic protagonist, is still compelling in his own right with his inspiring (and finally tragic) fight against Big Brother. The struggle that takes place between Winston and the government in 1984 is psychologically thrilling and intense, and it is still difficult for me to put the book down each time I read it. I am particularly drawn to the character of O'Brien, who represents to me the culmination of a path that all seasoned politicians and government officials travel down.

The year 1984 has come and past, but an extreme statist government similar to the one portrayed in the novel still may haunt us in the future.

Few books I have read have captivated me as much as 1984 did. In the two days I read it I actually stayed up near midnight and it took me all the willpower I had to put it down and finally go to sleep. I would highly recommend this book to any reader and personally consider it one of the greatest political statements agains communism ever written.

George Orwell's grim tale begins after a future government's attempt to create a utopia goes awry. We start the story as it pertains to Winston Smith, a man who works in The Ministry of Truth, which, despite it's misleading names, works on the 'correction' of 'false' records. Despite his desires to fit in, Winston is at risk merely because he can remember what life was like before 'Big Brother'. He knows that much of the party's propogands is fluid fiction; he realizes that the party controls individuals by brainwashing them with lies and alienating them from each other.

Winston soon begins having a love affair with a woman named Julia. In their hatred of Big Brother, they both decide to join an underground resistance call the Brotherhood. However, the organization is not quite as Winston had conceived, and he and Julia realize just how hard it is to resist Big Brother and the Thought Police.

One of the great books of the 20th century - it is amazing how much of Orwell has entered the language : Big Brother, Thought Police etc. The story is a bleak one - "Imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever!". Orwell intended it as a warning, not as a prophecy. As a warning, it worked - 1984 was read by every Russian dissident, about the only English book (besides Animal Farm) that can make that claim. Yet, the abuse of language described by Orwell, the way thought can be controlled by inculcating poverty of language, in a certain sense describes much of today's media - "dumbing down" actually limits the possible human response - look at the jeers and cheers on 'the Jerry Springer' as pathetic subjects explode their inarticulate rage. The nearest thing to the '5 Minute Hate' that I have ever seen. Yet, Orwell possibly made the warning too bleak (he was dying of TB as he wrote, it was his last book). You feel that while Julia and Winston Smith do ultimately betray each other, yet it was done under duress of torture, and there could possibly be forgiveness in their hearts afterwards, not the disillusion of the book. The power of human love could defeat the Party, perhaps. A book that repays several readings.

George Orwell's Animal Farm is a superb animation of the Russian Revolutioon. The book is amusing and interesting; it includes a comic element as it synonymously demonstrates the evolution from the proletariat revolution to a totalitarian government led by the swine of the society. Orwell successfully simplified the not-so-simple theory of class stratification and Karl Marx's proposed solution of communism. Orwell's method of conveyance is incredibly inventive. He uses satire in the form of a fairy tale to share his indignation for ideological doctrines that would, if allowed, lead to the eventual destruction of a society. Each character in the story is representative of someone who was involved in the Russian Revolution. Old Major is Marx, and inspires the proletariat revolution by motivating the over-worked animals and educating them on the ways of the human beings, who represent the bourgeoisie. Orwell's creativity convinces the reader that the animals on the farm are intellectual beings, revolting against the tyranny of the humans. Animal Farm offers itself as an example of a responsible criticism of Marxism. The story gives us a peek at the Utopian vision, and then offers a long look at what results from using a Marxist approach at achieving it. I strongly reccomend this book, as it is entertaining and educational. Orwell succeeded in creating a fairy tale that evokes both sadness and laughter, while causing us to feel sympathy and even empathy for the working class animals. The book escapes complexity, but its message does not.

If you know zilch about the history of the late, unlamented USSR, skip this book, you're not going to get it. The more you know, the more you're bound to admire one of the 20th century's great satires---maybe its greatest. Capitalism, Communism, Lenin, the October Revolution, the Interventions, Stalin, Trotsky, Beria, the KGB, Hitler and the Fascist invasion---all these and more are in there. Orwell savagely attacks the Communist system as it turned out in fact in the USSR, not as it was originally envisioned. Along the way, the various foibles of human nature and fatal tendencies of ruling classes everywhere are held up to his pitiless examination. I will not give a runthrough of the story, but the idea is that animals, representing the working class, overthrow people, representing capitalists, and establish a workers' state---called Animal Farm. Overall, Orwell leads to the question: haven't we gone beyond our abilities to control technology and scientific knowledge ? Our political skills have not kept pace.

Since Orwell completed his novel in 1945, the last section of the book, about what would happen to the Soviet Union under Communist plutocrats, was necessarily speculation for him (not for us). In some ways, ANIMAL FARM turned out to be uncannily correct, but in others, passé, because we know what happened thanks to our 57 years' hindsight. Orwell did not predict the rise of the satellite states in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, nor did he see that the building of heavy industry would be co-opted by the armaments race, bankrupting Animal Farm and ultimately bringing it down without a war. But the pigs eventually did turn into humans (i.e. workers became capitalists). Because Communism has crumbled, especially in the former USSR, people may feel ANIMAL FARM is no longer relevant. That would be wrong. We can't justly distribute resources or maintain the planet's environment. Think of the billions of impoverished people, massive pollution, the unending ecological destruction and the menace of genetically engineered everything. Now, more than ever, it seems that our world is an Animal Farm. When we protest, it is made perfectly clear to us---all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. The Pigs, Dogs, and Sheep are always with us. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, read this book.

Animal Farm is an easy-to-read book,and on th surface it seems like it's about animals.Pigs and horses and moles fill the story.It definetely looks boring to a person who's older than 13 and who's looking for depth in books.But,as I said before,it just seems boring on the surface , however no reader can deny how deep the book really is.Obviously it's about the Russian Revolution and what happened afterwards,and it's a must to read about Soviet Union in order to understand the book thoroughly. Surely it's possible to see the power fight among the pigs and relate it to real world,but that's not understanding it as a whole.After you read about the Soviet Union,you'll have a different enjoyment figuring out who's who.For example Napoleon the pig is representing Stalin,and Snowball the pig is representing Trotsky.Overall,first read about "the" revolution and what happened afterwards,understand who did what,and then read this fabulous book.You'll definetely have fun and a strange smile will form on your face after you read the last line.